A tall resident takes garden to new level
The enormously tall plant in Gaye Mullin’s garden isn’t a beanstalk, but Jack probably would’ve been able to climb it.
The branchless spike of the succulent, an Agave Geminiflora, is growing at least 15 centimetres a day and has so far reached about five metres in height.
‘‘It’s getting bigger by the day,’’ Mullin said. ‘‘And it’s sturdy. It’s like a tree trunk.’’
The plant is a native of Mexico, but Mullin bought hers from the Ellerslie Garden Show when it was still held in Auckland in 2008.
She planted it in her half-acre garden on Princess St in Waitara in North Taranaki, and enjoyed using it in her art.
‘‘It just sat there. It’s quite attractive,’’ Mullin said.
But three weeks ago, she noticed a stalk had sprung from the middle of the spiky ball of leaves.
‘‘I thought it was going to have babies but then it just grew and grew. I’ve never seen anything like it. I thought we were going to be taken over.’’
She said she had done some research and discovered the succulent was preparing to flower.
‘‘It only flowers once in its life, and then I assume it dies.’’
It might be a little premature too - they usually flower 10-15 years after being planted.
The Agave Geminiflora is also known as the Twin Flowered Agave and its flowers are tiny, yellow and grow from the stalk in pairs.
But Mullin’s isn’t flowering yet. ‘‘It’s growing at a rapid rate and I think it’s got more to go yet,’’ she said.